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Sunday, March 1, 2015

Book Club Review: Inherit the Dead

Inherit the Dead by Twenty Different Mystery AuthorsReview by LaurenSource: copy from library; all opinions are my ownOfficial Summary: Pericles “Perry” Christo is a PI with a past—a former cop who lost his
badge and his family when a corruption scandal left him broke and
disgraced. So when wealthy Upper East Side matron Julia Drusilla summons
him one cold February night, he grabs what seems to be a
straightforward (and lucrative) case.

The socialite is looking
for her beautiful, aimless daughter, Angelina, who is about to become a
very wealthy young woman. But as Christo digs deeper, he discovers
there’s much more to the lovely “Angel” than meets the eye. This classic
noir tale twists and turns down New York’s mean streets and along
Hamptons' beaches and back roads during a bitterly cold and gray winter
where nothing is as it seems and everyone has something to hide.

Review: February wasn't the best for the book club, as many people couldn't make the meetings and I was the only one who actually finished the book. Therefore, I don't really have much to add from the other members about what they thought. The one girl who was reading the book thought it was okay but it wasn't something that really held her interest. As for me, I think Inherit the Dead was a fairly quick read, and I did love the premise, but it wasn't the best story.

Inherit the Dead was like an old noir film, so that aspect will be hit or miss for some people. The story line can seem a bit over the top and you always have to have a sexual woman. In this case, that would be Angel, who is missing at first and who definitely has her fair share of secrets that need to be found out.

I thought the case was interesting overall and I was definitely curious to see where things would lead. Each chapter, instead of having a title, is designated by an author name. That means that the following chapter is written by that particular author. You get people like C.J. Box, Charlaine Harris, and more. These are all names I know but I had never read any individual books by them. I think certain authors were better than others. There were times where the writing style differed too much between each chapter, which was a bit jarring at times. I think it worked for the most part though.

In the end, Inherit the Dead was a unique book and I'm happy to have read it. I'd suggest getting it from the library first though if you're curious!

23 comments:

Oh I do like the concept of this book, it is different to a lot of the books I've seen out there, but I can see why it would be a difficult read to get into, especially with the change in perspective of chapters. But thank you for the honest review, I hope your next book club read works out for you more!

Reminds me a little of the game I'd play as a child, you write a bit of the story, fold the paper over and the next person continue on. I can't recall any other book with authors sharing the storyline, especially not with 20 different authors. I don't know if that would work with me, completely agree, it sounds jarring and I'm not sure each author could continue that connection with the characters. It's interesting though and curious enough to grab a copy. Wonderful review Lauren, and hopefully your book club is much more lively next month <3

Oh mystery! I just happen to have recently discovered how wonderful this genre can be on audio (I spent most of my past years buried in romance).I'll keep this one in my mind, I get a feeling this could be a great listen.Thank you :)

I think you've hit on the issue of collections. The writing can vary so greatly as to take you out of the mood for reading. I do love this idea, however, so I'd be inclined to check it out of the library.

You should give yourself a pat on the back for not only making all of the meeting, but also being the sole book club member who actually completed the assigned reading. *high five* I'll take your advice about checking my library first though. Thanks!

Sounds quite interesting but it has 20 authors! It had to of been quite chaotic to balance the story between everyone.Im guessing it didn't always mesh well from chapter to chapter. I read a similar story but it was only 2 authors from chapter to chapter. I am picturing those old B&W mystery films where the Private EYE is always wearing a trench & smoking a cigarette. The hot girl is a sultry manipulative blond. As interesting as it sounds I would probably not be the biggest fan of this story.